Colorado Oil Housing Advice (Denver: hotels, layoffs, camps)

[gambit1111]

Hi, can someone give me some advice on where to look for oil work in Colorado? I heard its one of the best places to look for work right now because the Oil companies put you up in the hotels that are usually used for the ski season. Any advice on where to look/ who to contact and the best area to search? Thanks.

[flyingcat2k]

I'm not sure who told you that but they must have been in a head shop. The Western Slope is pretty dead for exploration and production right now. Those are largely gas wells and are not economical at 2.15/MMbtu. Denver has lost over 1,000 main office jobs this year and those are just the published numbers from DBJ. There are many small firms that have closed their Denver offices and moved the remaining work back to Dallas, Houston or Oklahoma. A friend of mine is getting laid off in July and has recruiters telling him the market looks like the '86 bust, in Colorado at least.

I'd recommend Texas, Oklahoma or possibly ND if you want to stay in the industry. Those locations are still drilling but may not be hiring to many hands right now. Good luck.

[Mike from back east]

With the drop in crude oil prices, a lot of fracking rigs are off line and workers laid off. I've read that the man-camps in ND are emptying out, and I'd expect the same to be true here in COLO.

FWIW: there is or was a lot of fracking north of Denver, IIRC in the area of Weld County. Jobs there are usually found in craigslist, as are housing opportunities.

[JohnnyDenver]

Originally Posted by flyingcat2k

I'm not sure who told you that but they must have been in a head shop. The Western Slope is pretty dead for exploration and production right now. Those are largely gas wells and are not economical at 2.15/MMbtu. Denver has lost over 1,000 main office jobs this year and those are just the published numbers from DBJ. There are many small firms that have closed their Denver offices and moved the remaining work back to Dallas, Houston or Oklahoma. A friend of mine is getting laid off in July and has recruiters telling him the market looks like the '86 bust, in Colorado at least.

I'd recommend Texas, Oklahoma or possibly ND if you want to stay in the industry. Those locations are still drilling but may not be hiring to many hands right now. Good luck.

Today I spoke with a friend who lives in western oklahoma. Same story there. Oil field jobs drying up and economy taking a drive in that area.

[whirnot]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

With the drop in crude oil prices, a lot of fracking rigs are off line and workers laid off. I've read that the man-camps in ND are emptying out, and I'd expect the same to be true here in COLO.

FWIW: there is or was a lot of fracking north of Denver, IIRC in the area of Weld County. Jobs there are usually found in craigslist, as are housing opportunities.

It is dead in Weld county. There are rigs stacked everywhere. Many layoffs. you are three years too late.

[davebarnes]

It all depends upon what you think the future of this chart is: Crude Oil (petroleum); West Texas Intermediate - Daily Price - Commodity Prices - Price Charts, Data, and News - IndexMundi

And, if you can accurately forecast oil prices, then you shouldn't be working in the outdoors.

[Colorado Rambler]

Yeah, the same is true out here in SW Colorado. Energy giant Kinder Morgan is cutting back right now and any hiring they might do in this part of Colorado is minimal at best. Even during the boom times KM tends to hire out of Texas and not locally. You can Google them and see what jobs they have listed on their web page these days. If you do manage to get hired, you won't be staying in any resort motel room, either. They know how to build man camps here in Colorado, too.